Folding sidewall assembly for truck beds

ABSTRACT

A pickup truck modification wherein the truck bed is effectively extended laterally by providing opposing, hingedly attached sidewalls. The sidewalls may be selectively positioned vertically or horizontally, and, when positioned horizontally, allow for positioning relatively wide loads. The truck bed is effectively widened as the sidewalls are laterally positioned in weight bearing relation by abutment members which depend from the sidewalls. Loads wider than the truck bed, but not substantially exceeding the additional width created by the laterally extended sidewalls, may be placed on the truck bed with the excess portion of the load supported by the sidewalls. When used in combination with an extendable ramp assembly, loading and unloading of bulky loads is greatly facilitated.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/226,166,filed on Aug. 23, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to modifications for truck beds. Morespecifically, it relates to a folding sidewall assembly whichfacilitates loading and storage of wide loads.

2. Description of the Prior Art

With the recent popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), there hasbeen a corresponding increase in interest in light trucks of all kinds,including pickup trucks. Indeed, most major car and truck manufacturersare now offering SUVs which can be converted to pickup trucks byremoving and storing a few body panels. Pickup truck modifications ofall types have been available for years, which modifications wouldinclude campers and ramp assemblies.

As the interest in off road vehicles has increased, so has the interestin other recreational vehicles such as jet skis, snowmobiles, allterrain vehicles (ATVs) etc., which are generally single occupantvehicles adapted for a specific use. Typically, it is desired to firstdrive the recreational vehicle to an area specifically suited to allowthe user to take advantage of the unique capabilities offered by thevehicle. This is usually accomplished by loading the vehicle into anopen bed truck, and driving the truck to the desired location. A problemoften encountered with this arrangement is that it is difficult, if notimpossible, to load two such recreational vehicles onto a single truckbed due to space constraints. More often than not it is the width of thetruck bed, as defined and limited by the sidewalls, which presents thebiggest obstacle to loading multiple recreational vehicles onto a singletruck. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a pickup truckwhich is modified to accommodate two or more recreational vehicles.While pickup trucks having modified or adjustable sidewall assembliesare known, the prior art does not disclose a sidewall assembly usefulfor effectively extending the width of the truck bed of a pickup truck.

The following known prior art has been directed to providing a summaryof the devices of the prior art. As will be seen, the simplicity andeffectiveness of my invention is not rivaled in the prior art.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,603 issued to Schambre, et al., discloses a dropdown gate assembly for a pick up truck. The gate assembly is disposed inthe sidewall of the pickup truck to allow side access to the truck bed.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,988 issued to Patterson discloses a bed for a pickuptruck having side gates in the sidewalls thereof and a tailgate in therear wall thereof having exterior contours identical to the exteriorcontours of the wall within which the gates are located, to provideincreased accessibility to the interior of the bed and an aestheticallyappealing design.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or incombination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the invention comprises a truck bed modification wherein thetruck bed is effectively extended laterally by providing opposing,hingedly attached sidewalls. The sidewalls may be selectively positionedvertically or horizontally, and, when positioned horizontally, allow forpositioning relatively wide loads. The truck bed is effectively widenedas the sidewalls are laterally positioned in weight bearing relation byabutment members which depend from the sidewalls. Loads wider than thetruck bed, but not substantially exceeding the additional width createdby the laterally extended sidewalls, may be placed on the truck bed withthe excess portion of the load supported by the sidewalls. When used incombination with an extendable ramp assembly, loading and unloading ofbulky loads is greatly facilitated.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a newand improved truck bed which overcomes the disadvantages of the priorart in a simple but effective manner.

It is a major object of this invention to provide a pickup truckmodification which increases the effective width of a truck bed.

It is another object to provide a truck bed modification which can beused in combination with an extendable ramp assembly.

It is another object to provide a truck bed modification where the truckbed sidewall can be folded down in weight bearing relation to the truckbed to laterally extend the weight bearing surface area of the truckbed.

Finally, it is a general goal of the invention to provide improvedelements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposesdescribed which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective inaccomplishing its intended purposes.

Thus it can be seen that the potential fields of use for this inventionare myriad and the particular preferred embodiment described herein isin no way meant to limit the use of the invention to the particularfield chosen for exposition of the details of the invention.

A comprehensive listing of all the possible fields to which thisinvention may be applied is limited only by the imagination and istherefore not provided herein. Some of the more obvious applications arementioned herein in the interest of providing a full and completedisclosure of the unique properties of this previously unknown generalpurpose article of manufacture. It is to be understood from the outsetthat the scope of this invention is not limited to these fields or tothe specific examples of potential uses presented hereinafter.

These and other objects of the present invention, will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

The present invention meets or exceeds all the above objects and goals.Upon further study of the specification and appended claims, furtherobjects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters designate the same orsimilar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a truck having a truck bed assemblyincorporating the folding sidewall assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the truck, partly in section, illustrating oneof the sidewalls in the lateral position.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the truck bed assembly with both sidewalls andthe tail gate folded down into the lateral position.

FIG. 4 shows a rear view of the truck with the tail gate folded into thelateral position.

FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the locking hinge plate of the invention inthe folded position.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the locking hinge plate in the foldedposition.

FIG. 7 shows a plan view of the locking hinge plate of the invention inthe upright position.

FIG. 8 shows a side view of the locking hinge plate of the invention inthe folded position.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the locking hinge plate of theinvention in the folded position.

FIG. 10 shows a rear perspective view of a truck bed assemblyincorporating the folding sidewall assembly of the present invention andincluding an extendable ramp assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-10, the bed assembly of the present invention,generally indicated by the numeral 10, is shown. With particularreference to FIGS. 1-4, the bed 10 is illustrated mounted on a lightduty pickup truck chassis 12, the chassis including parallel mountingbars (not shown) upon which a conventional truck bed may be mounted asis well known in the art. It should be noted that the bed assembly 10 ofthe present invention may be used with any cargo carrying vehicle but isparticularly useful with a light duty truck such as a pickup truck 11 asdiscussed above. The bed of the present invention 10, which is bolted,welded or otherwise securely attached to the parallel mounting bars,extends from a position just behind the cab 14 of the vehicle 16 to arearward position extending beyond the rear wheels 18 of the vehicle 16.The pickup truck bed 10 main body is a load bearing platform 19including a floor 20 from which a front wall panel 22 may optionallyextend upwardly. An extendable ramp assembly 21 is positioned withinsleeve 23 beneath the floor 20 to facilitate loading of cargo. A rampassembly such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,125, issued tothe present inventor Charles D. Walkden, and herein incorporated byreference, may be used for this purpose. Sidewalls 24 and 26 extendrearwardly from said front wall 22 to rear tailgate 30 which is hingedlyattached to vertical end wall 32, which is securely attached, e.g., bywelding, to end portion 34 of the platform 19. The sidewalls 24, 26 arehingedly attached to the sides 29, 31 of the platform 19 to allow formovement from an upright position to a horizontal load bearing positionwhich effectively provides a lateral extension for the floor 20 of theplatform 19 as will be explained in more detail later. It should benoted that there is a legal limit to the width allowed for vehiclesusing public roads, and in accordance with one aspect of the inventionthe lateral extension provided by folding sidewalls 24, 26 is equal to,but does not exceed the legal limit. It can be seen that the sides 29,31 of the platform 19 have arcuate indentations or wheel wells 38 formedtherein to accommodate vertical displacement of the platform 19 relativeto the wheels 18.

Attached to and extending upwardly from the front end of platform 19 isa mounting bracket 37, commonly known as a headache rack, which servesto facilitate connecting various accessories to the vehicle 16 such asspotlights, spare tires, etc. The bracket 37 includes opposingupstanding members 38, 40 connected at their top ends by horizontalmember 42. Additional horizontal frame members may extend betweenupstanding members 38, 40 as is well known in the art, the additionalframe members serving to accommodate the attachment of additionalaccessories. Flanges 44 depending from the exterior of upstandingmembers 38, 40 have at least one aperture 45 sized to receive a bolt 46,the apertures 45 axially alignable with bores 48 formed in sidewalls 24,26 to allow insertion of bolt 46 into and through the aperture and intothe bore to effect locking of the sidewall 24, 26 in the uprightposition. A series of regularly spaced apertures 49 are formed inmounting bracket 37 to facilitate the use of cables to tie down largeloads.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, details of the sidewall 24, 26construction are shown. Each sidewall 24, 26 has at least a pair oflongitudinally spaced hinges 50 connected thereto by way of bolts 52, 54which protrude through an elongated main outer body member 56 having aU-shaped cross section. An inner main body member 60, also having aU-shaped cross section and co-extensive with outer body member 56provides a weight bearing surface upon which cargo may be positioned. Itcan be seen that the U-shaped member 60 is inverted relative to member56, and may be connected thereto by welding. A flange 62, co-extensivewith members 56, 60, is positioned between the outer surface of wall 64of inner main body member 60 and the inner surface of wall 66 of outermain body member 56 and is securely fastened thereto. A series ofregularly spaced apertures 68 formed in flange 62 facilitate the use ofropes or cables to tie down cargo. The flange 62 also provides avertical abutment surface when the sidewalls 24, 26 are in thehorizontal position.

Tailgate 30 is attached to end surface 32 by hinges 70 which areidentical in form and function to hinges 50. Downwardly dependingabutment surface 72 of endwall 32 is coplanar with endwall 74 ofplatform 19 to allow tailgate 30 to pivot between a horizontal loadingposition and an upright closed position. Flange 76, which is identicalto flange 62, is disposed across and securely fastened to the top end oftailgate 30, and includes cable apertures 77. Opposing apertured tabs 75extending from floor 20 are aligned with slots 79 in the tailgate 30 forprotrusion therethrough when the tailgate 30 is in the upright, closedposition, the horizontally disposed apertures in the tabs sized toreceive eye bolts 81. Insertion of eye bolts through locking tabs 75effectively locks the tailgate 30 in the upright position. Hinges 70 areconfigured to allow substantial loading upon tailgate 30 as will bediscussed in reference to FIGS. 5-9.

With particular reference to FIGS. 5-9, the hinge assembly 50 is shown.Each hinge 50 is pivotable between an open position wherein sidewalls24, 26 are substantially upright and a right angle position whereinsidewalls 24, 26 are horizontal, and includes a hinge plate 80 which isflush mounted to the sides 29, 31 of platform 19, e.g., by bolts 82 orother secure fastening means. U-shaped locking tab 84 extendsperpendicularly from hinge plate 80 and includes an aperture 86positioned centrally of end portion 88. Knuckle 90 of hinge 50 isrelatively robust and allows for pivoting motion of opposing hinge plate92 in a manner well known in the art. The opposing hinge plate 92 isfixedly mounted to main outer body member 56. Pivoting of the sidewalls24, 26 is limited to an approximate 90 degree arc, the upper limit ofthe pivot bounded by the edge 94 of the platform floor 20 which forms anelongated recess 95 within which lower interior edge 97 of sidewall 24,26 is positioned when the sidewalls 24, 26 are in the upright position.The lower limit of the pivot is bounded by abutment edge 96 of stopmember 100 as it comes to rest against hinge plate 80. Thus, in theupright position sidewalls 24, 26 rest against the edge 94 of theplatform floor 20, while in the horizontal position abutment edge 96rests against hinge plate 80 in weight bearing relation thereto.

Stop member 100, which has a substantially right triangular profile,extends perpendicularly from hinge plate 92 with abutment edge 96forming a right angle therewith. A pair of apertures, storage aperture102, and locking aperture 104 positioned proximate abutment edge 96 aresized to receive locking pin 106, the diameter of the pin 106 chosen toprovide a marginal frictional fit within apertures 102, 104. Aperture104 is axially aligned with aperture 88 when sidewall 24, 26 is in thehorizontal position. Locking pin 106 includes a U-shaped wire retentionmember 107 which limits axial displacement of the pin 106 whether instorage aperture 102 or locking aperture 104.

Referring now to FIG. 10, the pickup truck 11 is shown with ramp 110 ofthe extendable ramp assembly 21 in the extended position. It can be seenthat in this position, with sidewalls 24, 26 folded into the horizontalposition and the tailgate 30 open, a continuous loading and positioningsurface is provided comprising the ramp 110, the hinge plate or tailgatebridge 112, sidewalls 24, 26, and floor 20. This continuous loading andpositioning surface greatly facilitates loading and positioning of largeloads, especially small wheeled vehicles such as certain types of Rvs,of which multiple ones may be loaded onto a single pickup truck. Forboxes, furniture, and other objects, the continuous surface allows forsliding the object from the ground to a suitable position within thetruck bed 10, with folding sidewalls 24, 26 in the horizontal position,objects may be more easily handled by users not within the truck bed 10,as they do not have to reach up and over the sidewalls 24, 26.

In operation, when lateral extension of floor 20 is needed toaccommodate wide loads, one or both of sidewalls 24, 26 may be foldeddown into the horizontal position. With the tailgate 30 open, the rampassembly may be extended. When in the horizontal position, abutment edge96 of stop member 100 is flush against hinge plate 80 distributing theweight of sidewall 24, 26 along stop member 100 which functionsessentially as a truss. The sidewalls 24, 26 can be locked into positionby pushing end 105 of locking pin 106 into and through axially alignedapertures 104 and 88. Loads may be secured by threading, or otherwiseattaching, cables (not shown) through apertures 68 and 77 as has beenpreviously mentioned. In the upright position, locking pin 106 is storedin storage aperture 102. The use of storage aperture 102 to storelocking pin 106, in lieu of locking aperture 104 obviates the need toremove the locking pin before folding down the sidewall 24, 26. It canbe appreciated that if locking pin 106 were stored in aperture 104, thepin would become lodged against the end portion 88 of locking tab 84before horizontal positioning of the sidewall is completed, and thus thepin 106 would have to be removed from aperture 104 before repositioningsidewalls 24, 26 from the upright to the horizontal position. Hinge 70of the tailgate 30 functions in exactly the same manner as hinge 50, sothat tailgate 30 may be locked in the horizontal position.

It is to be understood that the provided illustrative examples are by nomeans ex-haustive of the many possible uses for my invention.

From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easilyascertain the essential characteristics of this invention and, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changesand modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages andconditions. For example, a mechanical linkage may be operativelyconnected to a source of motive power to effect powered movement ofsidewalls 24, 26 between the horizontal and upright positions.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to thesole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims:

1. A cargo bed assembly for loading multiple recreational vehicles ontoa standard pickup truck comprising: a main platform having a floor; rearand opposing sidewalls mounted proximate to said floor and havingportions extending upwardly from the periphery of said floor when in anupright position, each of said opposing sidewalls hingedly attached tosaid main platform for movement between the upright position and ahorizontal position, said upper portion substantially coplanar with saidfloor when in said horizontal position; a plurality of hinge assembliesfor attaching said sidewalls to opposing sides of said main platform,each of said hinge assemblies pivotable between an open position and aright angle position, each of said hinge assemblies having a first hingeplate fixedly secured to one of said sides of said main platform and asecond hinge plate fixedly secured to one of said sidewalls; a stopmember extending from each of said second hinge plates, said stopmembers extending perpendicularly from said second hinge plate andhaving a substantially triangular profile including an abutment surface;a ramp assembly stored within said main platform assembly, said rampassembly including means to prevent vertical deflection of said floor.2. The bed assembly of claim 1 wherein said stop member allows forpositioning of said sidewalls in weight bearing relation when in thehorizontal position.
 3. The bed assembly of claim 2 wherein said hingeassembly includes a first locking means releasably attached to said stopmember, said locking means securing said hinge assembly in the rightangle position.
 4. The bed assembly of claim 1 wherein a second lockingmeans secures said opposing sidewalls in the upright position.
 5. Acargo bed assembly for a truck comprising: a main platform having afloor; rear and opposing sidewalls mounted proximate to said floor andhaving portions extending upwardly from the periphery of said floor whenin an upright position, each of said sidewalls including an interiorsurface portion and each of said opposing sidewalls hingedly attached tosaid main platform for movement between the upright position and ahorizontal position, said interior surface portions substantiallycoplanar with said floor when in said horizontal position; a pluralityof hinge assemblies for attaching said sidewalls to opposing sides ofsaid main platform, each of said hinge assemblies pivotable between anopen position and a right angle position, said hinge assembliesincluding a first hinge plate fixedly secured to one of said sides ofsaid main platform and a second hinge plate fixedly secured to one ofsaid sidewalls; a stop member extending from said second hinge plate,said stop member including an abutment surface; wherein said abutmentsurface abuts said first hinge plate when said hinge assembly is in theright angle position; said hinge assembly including a locking meansreleasably attached to said stop member, said locking means securingsaid hinge assembly in the right angle position, said locking meansincluding a retention member extending therefrom; and, an extendableramp assembly stowable within said main platform beneath said floor,said ramp assembly including an extendable ramp portion having atailgate bridge, said ramp portion, said hinge plate, said tailgatebridge, and said sidewalls cooperating to selectively provide asubstantially continuous surface for loading said cargo bed.
 6. The bedassembly of claim 5 wherein said stop member extends perpendicularlyfrom said second hinge plate and has a substantially triangular profile,said stop member allowing positioning of said one of said sidewalls inweight bearing relation when in the horizontal position.
 7. The bedassembly of claim 5 wherein said hinge assembly includes a first lockingmeans releasably attached to said stop member, said locking meanssecuring said hinge assembly in the right angle position.
 8. The bedassembly of claim 7 wherein a second locking means secures said opposingsidewalls in the upright position.
 10. A cargo bed assembly for a truckcomprising: a main platform having a floor; rear and opposing sidewallsmounted proximate to said floor and having portions extending upwardlyfrom the periphery of said floor when in an upright position, each ofsaid sidewalls including an interior surface portion and each of saidopposing sidewalls hingedly attached to said main platform for movementbetween the upright position and a horizontal position, said interiorsurface portions substantially coplanar with said floor when in saidhorizontal position; a plurality of hinge assemblies for attaching saidsidewalls to opposing sides of said main platform, each of said hingeassemblies pivotable between an open position and a right angleposition, said hinge assemblies including a first hinge plate fixedlysecured to one of said sides of said main platform and a second hingeplate fixedly secured to one of said sidewalls; a stop member extendingfrom said second hinge plate, said stop member including an abutmentsurface; wherein said abutment surface abuts said first hinge plate whensaid hinge assembly is in the right angle position; said hinge assemblyincluding a locking means releasably attached to said stop member, saidlocking means securing said hinge assembly in the right angle position,said locking means including a retention member extending therefrom. 11.The assembly of claim 10 including an extendable ramp assembly stowablewithin said main platform beneath said floor, said ramp assemblyincluding an extendable ramp portion having a tailgate bridge, said rampportion, said hinge plate, said tailgate bridge, and said sidewallscooperating to selectively provide a substantially continuous surfacefor loading said cargo bed.